Monday, October 10, 2011

busy autumn

it has been a crazy busy fun fall thus far for all of us.
the girls love school.  adore their teachers.  can't wait to go each morning.  i *heart* not having to fight to get them up & doing and ready to go!  of course, picking out their outfits the night before is very helpful.
although there have been many events and laughter that i'd love to write about...this one is a quick one about teacher conferences.
i am so stinking proud of my girls!
nea is reading 1st grade level (and sometimes harder!) books...she is one of the best readers in her class and knows all her sight words already!  so her teacher is starting her on 1st grade words this week.  she is super excited.  and that girl can draw & color like a pro!  beautiful pictures that are colored intricately for her age.  she is still quiet, although her teacher does finally get a smile out of her!  for as quiet she is during school hours, the words & storied pour (gush!) out of her at pickup.  and she is competitive - she likes to be first in line.  we knew she could be sneaky and it sounds like she is showing some of that in school.  soccer season went very well for her - she learned the fine art of stopping with the ball and letting the other kids run past her then turning and scoring.  the pride on the little girl's face was so awesome!  she is still dancing tap and ballet - and really wanted to add a jazz class.  maybe next year.  she really likes being in the same class as her sister and they are super cute together!  i cannot wait for their christmas recital  - they are dancing to one of my favorite non-traditional songs:  "i want a hippopotamus for christmas...".  and finally, she is monkey-bar-hanging-swinging-spinning fool!  had the blisters on each hand to prove it.  they are nicely healed now and well on the way to being calloused because those monkey bars must be conquered at each recess. 
wren knew all her 1st grade sight words a few weeks ago and we got a note letting us know that her teacher was starting her on the 2nd grade words to keep challenging her.  she is reading very well and loves checking out all sorts of books from the library (she just brought home a book about ancient egypt!).  at conferences her teacher had such good things to say...except wanting her to slow down a bit with her writing.  her teacher is not letting her use the "i'm lefty and it's hard to write well" excuse.  but my favorite thing was a book where they are journaling about what they did on the weekends.  they write a sentence and draw a picture.  she wrote about going to gram & grandpa's.  getting groceries with the daddy.  and more than once she wrote that we went to church and she learned about God.  i love that girl!  i am so proud of her!  wren had a good friend of hers hurt (almost break) her arm and when she showed up at "walking club" with a cast on, wren went over to ask if she was okay and immediately offered to help her get her jacket on and held her good hand the whole time we walked.  she is a good friend!  she is continuing her piano lessons and enjoys practicing and playing each day.  today she had a "group" lesson and i was just walking out of her teacher's home as she was starting her solo.  she was sitting up proud and straight and played loudly, then softly and all from memory.  that girl can play a good "ole macdonald's farm" i tell ya!  she enjoyed soccer this year, but mostly the social aspect.  although she enjoys running and kicking, soccer is not necessarily her best sport.  she is still dancing (ballet & tap) and likes that nea is in class with her.
so there's bit aboout us and what we are up to.  my working is going well...days go fast!  the house is not clean.  the laundry piles up.  and my "fall painting projects" will have to be "summer painting projects" when i will be on sabbatical.  i have been able to get in some volunteering at the girls' school and am able to do "walking club" each morning with them.  it is fun to see them interact with their teachers and classmates and other students.  karl & i have made it to the ISU home games and some have been great.  others not so much.  such is the way of college football.  we are getting ready for halloween...hopefully i'll get some photos posted in a couple weeks of our "jasmine", "flamingo dancer", "ISU fan", and "parrot".  in the mean time you'll just have to try to guess who is going as what.  or who.  or is it whom?  whatever.